January 13, 2009

Robot Dreams by Sara Varon

I just realized that this is my first post for this challenge! I will be reading at the minor level, and blogging about it here and at my blog. I'm terrible at making lists ahead of time, but besides this book, I plan on reading Maus by Art Spiegelman, and one of the Sandman books by Neil Gaiman. I have not yet decided for the other three books, although after reading the reviews posted here, I will probably check out Fables. I am also interested in reading more Alan Moore.Robot Dreams was so different from what I expected. It is a story told entirely in pictures, and as it has no words to read, it can be "read" in less than half an hour. At my library this book is shelved with the older children's materials - with the chapter books actually. This makes no sense, as not only is it not a chapter book, but it tells a different sort of story than most kid's books. The pictures are sort of childish, but I think if you're expecting a childish story, as I was, you will be surprised.Robot Dreams is a story of friendship lost and found. Dog (obviously none of the characters have names, as their are no words) builds Robot from a kit, and they become best friends, doing everything together. Until they go to the beach, where Robot makes the mistake of getting wet. His entire body freezes up so that he cannot get back on the bus to go home with Dog. So Dog leaves, saddened and wondering how to help his friend. Unfortunately, he is unable to save Robot, and Robot gets left on the beach for months all by himself. Meanwhile, Dog tries to find a friend with which he can spend all of his time, like he did with Robot. Although the story has an uplifting and rather hopeful ending, I found Robot's fate to be rather tragic. This was a strange and enchanting little book, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a rather different sort of graphic novel.

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Welcome! I'm Nicola and I've been the host of this blog as of 2012. Previous hosts have been Vasilly, Chris and Nymeth, Laza and the originator, the much-missed Dewey. I hope this challenge will help spread the love for the graphic medium as well as lead those who already love it to great new books.

What Is Comics

Comics (kom'iks)n. plural in form, used with a singular verb. 1. Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer. - Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics